


To Be Happy

by Little_oblivion



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, Homophobia, Religion, a little angst for your day, both families are featured, but also a little fluff, engaged sohara
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25999954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_oblivion/pseuds/Little_oblivion
Summary: All Emily wants is to be happy, even if it looks different from what her mom had planned
Relationships: Kelley O'Hara/Emily Sonnett
Comments: 7
Kudos: 99





	To Be Happy

**Author's Note:**

> Oh hello, enjoy this one shot that was spawned from a conversation I had last night

“Kel! Kel wait until you see the trick I just taught Bagel- what’s wrong?”

Kelley was sitting on the edge of their bed, staring down at her phone. “Um… nothing,” she said, giving her head a quick shake.

“No, what is it?”

“Well, I just got off the phone with my mom.”

“Is everything okay?”

Kelley nodded, her face pinched. “Yeah, she just was telling me that she called your mom and invited your parents over for dinner, they wanted to get to know them before everything gets swept up in wedding madness.”

Emily sat next to her on the bed. “Oh! That’s great, that’ll be fun.”

Kelley shook her head. “Your mom said no.”

“…oh.” They both sat in silence for a moment. To flat out turn down an invitation to dinner, especially when they only lived an hour apart, was a clear message, a slap in the face.

“I don’t…” Kelley sighed, trying to keep her anger pushed down. “I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want to meet my family.”

“I’m sorry,” Emily said softly, her face growing hot. “I don’t, I’m sorry-”

“You don’t have to apologize.”

But she did. Emily’s stomach was filling with a sense of white hot shame. She stood up from the bed, striding into the kitchen, looking for her phone. As soon as she found it, she jammed her finger into her mom’s contact, her hands shaking as she became overwhelmed with emotion. Her mom answered after just a few rings.

“Hey there, Buttercup.”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Not a lot, just siting outside, playing with the dogs.”

“We need to talk.” She didn’t say anything back so Emily plunged ahead. “Why did you tell the O’Hara’s that you didn’t want to go over for dinner?”

Her mom sighed. “Emily, don’t get all upset-”

“Why?”

“Don’t snap at me, Emily Ann. It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Emily let herself out onto the balcony, sliding the door shut behind her. “Yes, it is, and you know it. You went and had dinner with Garrett’s parents after he proposed to Emma.”

“That was different.”

“How?” Emily threw up an arm. “Tell me how.”

“Because he’s a man!”

And there it was. Emily hadn’t been sure that her mom would just come out and say it, but from the moment Kelley said that her parents had turned down the invite, she knew that’s what this was about. The anger rushed from her body, replaced by an aching sadness, and she leaned hard against the railing.

“Mama…”

“It’s just different, and you know it!”

“You… you know that I’m gay. You’ve known for…”

Her mom let out a huffy breath. “Well I’m sorry but I guess I’ve just been hoping that you would, I don’t know grow out of this whole lesbian thing.”

Tears rushed to her eyes, and Emily blinked them back resiliently. She heard the door slide open behind her, but she didn’t turn around. “I’m not going to… I’m gay. And nothing is going to change that.”

“I thought that if we just kept our heads down and bided our time that you would stop this… rebellious streak that you’re going through, and settle down with a nice boy and start a family.”

She gritted her teeth, trying her best to keep her emotions at bay. “This… is not a rebellious streak. This is just who I am. I’m gay. And I’m marrying Kelley.”

She sighed again. “And while you’ve made that clear, it doesn’t mean that I have to be happy about it.”

“You can’t be happy about me finding the love of my life?” Now the tears were falling, and Emily furiously tried to wipe them away.

“I can’t be happy that my baby girl has chosen to live in sin.” A shaky inhale rattled through the phone. “All I’ve ever wanted was for my girls to live good, upstanding, Christian lives. And it breaks my heart to know that you’re not.”

Emily began to sob openly, and she felt Kelley tug the phone from her hand, murmuring something into the mouthpiece before placing the phone on the table and wrapping Emily in her arms.

“It’s okay. You’re okay.”

“Why is she being like this?” Emily asked into her shoulder.

“I don’t know, babe, I’m so sorry.”

“Saying that she wants me to live a good life, what exactly does she think I’ve been doing for all of these years?”

Kelley’s heart ached, and she pulled her closer. “You are good, Em. You’re so good. You’re incredible.”

“And now your parents are mad-”

“They’re not mad!” Emily pulled back, giving Kelley as look as she wiped at her cheeks. “They’re… upset. Their feelings are hurt, sure. But they’re not mad, and definitely not mad at you.”

This wasn’t to say that Kelley wasn’t mad, because she was. She was furious that Emily’s mom could somehow look at her and see anyone but the amazing woman she had fallen in love with. She knew that underneath the jokes and the dance moves and the pranks that Emily still struggled so deeply with her identity and her sense of self worth, and she knew that much of that stemmed from her parents.

“Does this mean they’re not coming to the wedding?” Emily asked, her voice hoarse with tears.

“I… I don’t know, sweetheart. I don’t know.”

X

Emily didn't even know that Kelley had reached out to her sister until she opened the O’Hara’s front door to see Emma standing on the porch, a bottle of wine in one hand.

“Emma?” she asked incredulously.

“Hey loser,” she smiled. “Are you going to let me inside or what?”

She stood to the side, still in shock as her twin breezed past.

“Emma, hi!” Kelley said, giving her a hug.

“Hi. I brought a Pinot Grigio, I hope that’s alright.”

Kelley took the bottle from her. “Listen we’re not fussy with our alcohol here, this is great.” She turned to find Karen, Dan, and Erin behind her. “Everyone, this Emily’s sister, Emma. Emma, these are my parents and my older sister.”

“Hi,” the other Sonnett offered, holding out her hand with a firm smile. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

Karen bypassed the handshake to wrap her in a hug. “We’re so happy you could make it.”

Emily pulled Kelley to the side, lowering her voice. “What’s going on?”

She pressed her lips together, hoping she didn’t mess up by making this a surprise. “So what if your parents didn’t want to meet mine? They still want to get to know you and your family better, so I asked Emma to dinner.”

Emily nodded slightly, taking Kelley’s hand and squeezing it. “Thank you,” she mumbled under her breath.

Kelley pressed a kiss to her temple. “I love you, Emily Sonnett. I love you so much. And I promise that I’m going to spend the rest of my life making you happy.”

Dinner turned out perfectly. Everyone had a great time eating and talking and laughing. After dessert (and several glasses of wine), Karen insisted that Dan take a picture of them, all five women smiling wide for the camera as Karen held them close. She posted it to social media the next day with the caption ‘I love all my girls :)” and tagged both Emily and Emma.

She hadn’t thought anything past it being a sweet gesture until the next day when her phone rang as she took Bagel for a walk.

“Hello?”

“What is this exactly?” her mother’s voice was sharp and tight.

“What is… what? What are you talking about?”

“What is this picture of you and Emma?”

Realization dawned on her and she blew out a long breath. “The O’Hara’s invited Emma and I over to dinner so that they could get to know her.”

“Why?”

“Because Kelley and I are getting married, Mom. And our families are going to be joined and they wanted to be nice.”

“Well I don’t know why she would have called you ‘her girls,’ you’re not-”

“Mom,” Emily tried to gently interrupt, pushing down her irritation.

“I mean, I am your mother-”

“Then why don’t you act like it?!” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

“Excuse me?” her mother asked, her voice low and dangerous.

She took a deep breath. “I said then why…” She lost the nerve to repeat herself. “Don’t act like you were excluded in any way. You were invited. The O’Hara’s wanted you there. You were the one who turned them down.”

“It’s, it’s not, I already told you why-”

“Yes, Mama, because I’m very gay and I’m marrying a woman. Trust me, I haven’t forgotten. And you know what? If that’s how you want to act, then I can’t stop you. I can’t force you to be nice to my future in-laws. I can’t make you see how lucky I am to be marrying Kelley. I can’t make you accept me. I can’t… I can’t make you love me.”

“I do love you-” she answered automatically, but Emily cut her off.

“No, apparently you don’t. Because love doesn’t come with buts. It’s supposed to be unconditional. It’s all encompassing.”

“The bible says-”

“The bible says to love one another above all else.”

“Emily-”

“We’re getting married, okay? And either you’re going to find a way to be on board with that, to truly be my mom and love me, or you’re not, and you’re going to miss out on my life. And it’s going to be a great one,” Her voice cracked but she pushed through. “We’re already discussing kids. Do you really not want to know your grandkids? Is that something that you’re willing to give up?”

“Emily, I know that you can find a man to be happy with, you just have to give it a chance-”

She drew herself up to her full height, gripping the phone so tightly her fingers were starting to go numb. “I’ve given it a chance. Don’t act like I didn’t try to change myself, because I did. I spent years scared and ashamed and confused, but I’m not anymore. I know who I am, and I know what I want, and that’s Kelley. And if you can’t get your head around that…” she swallowed around the lump in her throat, “then you need to go ahead and tell me so that I can change the wedding guest count.”

“Emily, wait-” But she didn’t. She hung up the phone, staring at the photo of Kelley she had selected as her background. She took one last breath and slid her phone back in her pocket.

“C’mon Bongo. Let’s go see Mom, baby.”

X

Weeks went by in radio silence, Emily and her mom largely ignoring each other, or communicating through Emma or her dad. Finally, Emily’s dad called her one day as she and Kelley were driving home from practice.

“Are y’all free this Friday night? Your mama and I’d like it if you came over for dinner.”

“Are you sure about that?” she asked, bitterness slipping into her voice.

“Yes. Can you come?”

She turned to Kelley. “How do you feel about dinner with my parents this Friday?”

Kelley glanced over from the driver’s seat. “That’s fine.”

“What time?” she asked.

“Let’s do seven.”

“Okay, we’ll be there.”

“Okay.” He paused for a second. “She wants to make this right, Buttercup.”

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I want it to be right, too.”

“So you’ll give her a chance?”

“I’m not the one who-” Kelley squeezed her knee and she stopped herself from going on the angry tirade that had been spinning through her mind for days on end. “Yes.”

“Okay, we’ll see you then.” They made their goodbyes and Emily hung up.

“Are you alright?”

She shrugged. “Yeah. It’ll be what it is.”

“Maybe her reaching out is a good sign.”

Emily gave her a look. “She couldn’t even call me herself, Kel.”

She intertwined their hands. “I know, babe. But maybe she was afraid that you wouldn’t take her call.”

“What? When have I ever-”

“Em. I’m just saying maybe she’s still feeling things out.”

Emily sighed. “I just… I thought we had put all of this behind us. I mean I came out to them how many years ago?”

“Yeah. But being gay in theory is much different than being gay in practice.”

“Why are you on her side? If anything, you should be more upset than I am. She’s the one who gave your mom the cold shoulder.”

Kelley sighed. “It’s not that I’m not mad, Em. I hate that she’s acting like this. I don’t like what went down with my parents and I sure as hell don’t like the way this has made you feel. You’re the most important person in my life. But also… you’re the most important person in my life. And she’s your mom, and I want to do everything I can to help you guys mend this. Because that’s what you deserve.”

Emily lifted their hands so she could press a kiss to her knuckles. “How did I get so lucky to land someone like you?”

“Luck had nothing to do with it, baby.”

“Was it my rad dance movies?”

Kelley snorted. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”

X

She and Kelley walked through the side door. “Mom? Dad? We’re here!” They walked into the living room and Emily stopped in her tracks.

Because sitting on the couch opposite her dad were Kelley’s parents.

“Oh! Um, hi.” She glanced over at Kelley, but her face was frustratingly blank.

“Hi there, sugar. It’s good to see you again.” Karen gave her a tight hug.

“What… are you guys doing here?”

“I invited them.” She turned around to see her mom standing in the archway to the kitchen. “I… you were right. They’re your future in-laws and we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. It’s a good idea to get acquainted with our future grandchildren’s other grandparents.”

“Right,” Emily answered weakly.

“It’s, it’s really nice to see you, Kelley.” She watched, dazed, as her mom gingerly gave Kelley a hug, a huge step from the usual nod or handshake. When she pulled away, she briefly cupped Emily’s cheek. “Alright, dinner is ready if y’all want to make your way into the dining room.” They all did as she said, but Emily caught her mom’s elbow, waiting until they were the only two left.

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“I… You were right. I had no right to be jealous of you spending time with Kelley’s parents. They’re wonderful people, and you are so lucky to have them as your in-laws. And… Kelley is wonderful, too. I’m sorry if I let my own… I don’t know, cowardice or shame get in the way of seeing that. She’s a good person and… and so are you, Buttercup. You are an amazing person, and you deserve a love like your father and I have and if that’s what you have with Kelley then I am so, so happy that you found it. I love you Emily. I love you more than you will ever know.”

Emily threw her arms around her mom, crushing her nose against the top of her mom’s head. “I love you too. And she really does, Mama. She makes me happier than I ever have been other than when I’m on the soccer pitch.”

“I’m going to be better. I want to be in your life.”

“I want you there too.”

Her mom pulled back, cupping her face in her hands. “Let’s eat before it goes cold.”

Emily followed her into the dining room, where everyone was serving their plates. She sat down next to Kelley and leaned over, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“What’s that for?” she asked softly.

“Because I know you had a part in this. Thank you.”

Kelley kissed her sweetly on the mouth. “I love you, Em. I would do anything to make you happy.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all liked it, come find me on tumblr @thetheatrelady


End file.
